A Teaser From That New Story · 1:35am Sep 18th, 2016

Just thought I'd throw this up here. A little teaser of my next fanfic. It'll be a little while yet before it goes up, but I got 3600 words done on it today.

Oh, and this is the kooky one. Not meant to be taken seriously. The words I cut off on are a clue as to where things are going to head. Enjoy!

The earth shook underhoof, a muted roar that made pebbles leap and trees quake. Twilight Sparkle almost stumbled as Tirek’s roar of triumph tore through the woods around her, scattering leaves and ruffling the feathers on her back. Her body felt weak still after having her magic—as well as that of three other alicorns—ripped from her. Everything felt muted, sluggish, like the color had been washed out of the world. Moving was difficult. Running was almost impossible.
But she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t give up now. She could feel the weight of the amulet Discord had given her bouncing against her chest. It was the final piece, she was sure of it. The final key to open the chest that had taunted her and her friends for almost a year.
My friends … She risked a glance back as the ground shook again, a primal roar of fury echoing through the woods. Each of her friends was running along behind her—even Rainbow Dash, who normally would have been flying. Each of them looked ragged, drained, their sides heaving with exertion, their bodies shaking.
She knew she didn’t look any better. She could feel her breath coming in ragged gasps, feel the slick of sweat making its way down her sides, feel the telltale quiver in her wingfeathers that said she was exhausted. In any ordinary circumstance, she would have called all of them—including herself—to a halt immediately to wait for a doctor to treat them for magic exhaustion.
Then another titanic hoof struck the ground some distance behind them, the impact enough to almost throw all of them to the ground in a pile of limbs, and she redoubled her efforts.
We can’t stop now! she thought as the group ran on. We have to get to the chest! All of us! There had to be something in it that could defeat Tirek, something that could stop him. Otherwise why would the Tree of Harmony give it to them in return for the elements?
There has to be a point to it, right? she thought as she spotted the cave entrance ahead. Otherwise why would a strange, magical tree bother?
She burst free of the forest, brush scraping along her sides, and galloped toward the cave. Another roar echoed after her as she sped through the entryway, followed by a deafening rumble that almost made it sound as if the earth itself was being overturned.
Maybe it is, she thought as she caught sight of the Tree of Harmony, its crystalline surface still emitting a gentle, soothing glow despite the chaos outside the cave. When Tirek and I fought, we leveled hills. With all the power he has now …
She skidded to a halt before the chest, still sitting where she and her friends had left it. Her legs were shaking beneath her, quivering and crying out for rest, but she couldn’t give it to them. Not yet.
“Everyone make it?” she asked, turning as the rest of her friends came to a stop. All of them looked almost as exhausted as she felt—even Applejack, who normally wouldn’t have been winded.
“Barely,” came a sardonic reply as Discord bent all the way over, his hands on his knees. He opened his mouth again, only to frown and then hold up one talon. “Can’t … breathe …” he said. “Can’t do magic … Is this what it’s like to be mortal?”
“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Spike said as he came to a stop. The little dragon was barely out of breath. “I’m doing all right, and I’ve got just as many legs as you.”
Discord fixed him with a glare, though there wasn’t much heart in it. “Well when you’ve had the power to reshape reality at a whim, we can compare notes, all right?”
From outside there was another roar, followed by a deafening series of cracks. Fluttershy shot a worried look at the entrance of the cave. “Those poor animals …”
Twilight shook her head. Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Discord. That’s everyone! “Come on!” she said, waving a hoof towards the chest.
“Do you think it’ll work, Twi?” Applejack asked as Twilight stepped towards the chest and held out the amulet.
If it doesn’t, Twilight thought, we might all be doomed.